The Best Halloween Movies for Kids

Halloween is a great time to watch spooky movies, but while the horror marathons are abundant for adults, it can be tough to find the right Halloween movies for kids. Not to fear, we’ve put together a list of some of the best Halloween movies that kids and adults alike can enjoy, from Millennial favorites that you can pass on to your own children to recent releases that are actually pretty cute. They’ve all got those Spooky Season vibes minus the scare factor that makes more traditional horror films an ill fit.

Check out our picks for the best Halloween movies for kids below.

Hocus Pocus

Photo: Disney

Is It Scary? Not really

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 36 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Disney+

What’s It About? A Halloween staple, especially for Millennial parents, Disney’s “Hocus Pocus” follows three witch sisters who were hung in 1693 Salem but are summoned back to life in 1993 on Halloween night. It’s up to three kids to stop them as they hit the town, looking for children to kill. But it’s funny and sweet and very Disney-fied.

ParaNorman

Laika

Is It Scary? A little, but not too much

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 32 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Starz, Tubi and Pluto TV

What’s It About? This stop-motion animated feature is a love letter to classic monster movies with a modern twist as it follows a young boy who has the ability to see and talk to the dead – which comes in handy when his sleepy Massachusetts town is overrun by zombies. There are a couple of intense moments, but the film has a twist that speaks directly to the effects of bullying and serves as a surprisingly emotional little Halloween tale.

Goosebumps

Sony Pictures

Is It Scary? No

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 43 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Netflix

What’s It About? This 2015 live-action adaptation of the beloved “Goosebumps” franchise is an absolute delight, complete with spooky vibes but made for a pre-teen and young audience. Jack Black stars as “Goosebumps” author R.L. Stine whose expertise is needed when the creatures from his books start coming to life.

Halloweentown

Disney

Is It Scary? Not at all

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 24 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Disney+

What’s It About? Another Millennial classic, the Disney Channel Original Movie “Halloweentown” may just be the kid-friendliest movie on this list. The story concerns a teen who learns she comes from a family of witches and that there’s an entire, secret, magic town called Halloweentown full of spooky delights. Wish-fulfillment at its finest.

Casper

Universal Pictures

Is It Scary? No

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 41 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Netflix

What’s It About? A young Christina Ricci stars in this 1995 adaptation of the cartoon, which concerns a young girl who is summoned to a haunted mansion with her paranormal therapist father by a friendly ghost named Casper. This is part haunted house movie, part young romance and it’s lovely.

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Walt Disney Company

Is It Scary? A little

How Long Is It? 2 hours and 3 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Disney+

What’s It About? If your family is a Disney family – the kind that regularly takes trips to Disneyland or Disney World – then the 2023 “Haunted Mansion” is a solid pick. The film lovingly pays tribute to the beloved attraction while telling a compelling story about a group of disparate people with experience in the paranormal who are summoned to the titular Mansion only to discover they can’t escape its horrors until they solve the problem of who’s doing the haunting.

Hotel Transylvania

Sony Pictures

Is It Scary? No

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 31 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Hulu, Fubo TV

What’s It About? This animated film starring Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez concerns the daughter of Dracula who longs of leaving her isolated castle to mosey about in the human world. Her father, meanwhile, would rather she stay close to home, surrounded by monsters of her own kind. A variety of colorful creatures abound.

The Addams Family

Paramount Pictures

Is It Scary? No. Creepy and kooky? Yes.

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 39 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Paramount+, Pluto TV

What’s It About? This 1991 cartoon adaptation is a spooky delight as it concerns the Addams family, a truly wild unit of Halloween-loving folks. The crux of the story concerns the return of long-lost uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd), who may or may not be an imposter. But kids will spark to the various hidden passageways and secrets inside the Addams house as well as the bevy of fun practical effects.

Beetlejuice

Warner Bros.

Is It Scary? Kind of.

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 32 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Max

What’s It About? This Tim Burton film may be best reserved for the more adventurous of kids given that it’s a movie entirely about death, but if you’re on its wavelength there’s nothing quite like it. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play a couple who perish in a car accident, only to become ghosts in their own home, forced to witness a Big City family move in and change everything they love. They enlist the help of a naughty ghoul named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to exorcise them, but get more than they bargained for.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Disney

Is It Scary? A little

How Long Is It? 1 hour and 16 minutes

Where Is It Streaming? Disney+

What’s It About? The perfect bridge to Christmas season, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a super spooky and joyful twist on the holidays. The stop-motion animated film follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who yearns of doing more than just scaring people for a living. When he stumbles upon Christmas Town and learns of Christmas, he attempts to take over Santa’s job and spread Christmas spirit.

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